Your Fast Food is About to Change in Canada

Published September 18, 2018 at 5:55 pm

transfat

Eager restaurant goers and fast food lovers may be disappointed with a recent ban in effect in Canada.

Or not. 

Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, recently announced a ban on trans fats.

As of Sept. 17, it was announced that Health Canada has officially banned adding partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) to food.

“As Minister of Health, I am very concerned with the rise in heart disease, which is one of the leading causes of death in Canada,” Taylor said in a recent statement. “Health Canada’s ban on partially hydrogenated oils in the food supply is part of the Government of Canada’s action to help protect Canadians from diet-related chronic disease.”

PHOs were first seen in the food industry in the early 20th century and were used to help preserve products for longer. 

PHOs often contribute to heart disease, one of the main causes of death in Canada. 

The Health Canada ban, which only includes PHOs and not naturally occurring trans fats, is being carried out in collaboration with global aims to put a stop to industrial trans fats in food. The goal of banning PHOs is to help Canadians make healthier eating choices, according to a recent press release from the federal government. 

“This important and final step will eliminate these heart-clogging fats from our food supply, benefiting the health of all people in Canada by reducing the number of heart attacks and saving lives,” Yves Savoie, CEO, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada said in a recent statement. 

“This measure is a critical component of the federal Healthy Eating Strategy.”

The two-year phase-in period, enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), states that products containing PHOs can still be sold as long as they were manufactured prior to Sept. 18, 2018.

The announcement of this ban has been a long time coming. One year ago, the Canadian Health Minister told the food industry about the ban and that they would have the year to find alternate options to PHOs. 

Starting Monday, Sept. 25, foods that are made in Canada and found in restaurants and grocery stores cannot include trans-fat which could result in a change of taste in some tasty foods. 

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